Chapter 44

Erica

"Marcus is meeting us here?"

"As soon as he can get away," Erica nodded. "Angus is keeping him busy so we could meet with the London group."

And what a meeting it turned out to be. Erica couldn't wait for Marcus to join them. Sitting at their favourite bar, she'd already ordered him a celebratory drink though she had a feeling they were going to need a hell of a lot more once she told him the deal she had secured for them.

"He's late," Josh said, watching the door. He was just as anxious as she was to tell Marcus the good news. She felt her heart swell as she watched her brother.

Josh was the type of person who got on well with everyone. In any social situation, he found someone to talk to and made sure everyone was relaxed in his company. So it was no surprise he and Marcus got along.

What was a little unexpected was just how well they got along.

As close as brothers, Josh was the person Marcus spent the most time with after her. A fact that made her indescribably happy. When she had been with Alex, her time with her siblings felt very limited. It was almost as though Alex knew if they spent enough time around him, they'd see him for what he was.

But Marcus had nothing to hide and Josh was an almost daily visitor to their home.

"What did bitch features want, anyway?" He asked, turning his attention away from the door. "You caught up pretty quickly."

"She wanted to know why I haven't signed my divorce papers," she said, rolling her eyes. "Alex has her convinced I'm the one delaying things. "

"I'd almost feel sorry for her if she wasn't such a bitch," Josh said, taking a drink. "How could she believe a single thing he says?"

Erica shrugged, glancing at the door. "Fuck knows, honestly. I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. How any self-respecting woman could trust someone so willing to cheat—"

"She's hardly self-respecting, Eri," he replied. "And she's just as bad as he is."

Well, how could she argue with that?

God, throwing the London group in Sophie's face had been satisfying. The only way the moment could have been better would have been if Alex was there, too. Erica didn't need the London Group for the TV deal. Truthfully, after Angus had publicly given them his backing, they'd had their pick of TV executives who had the next ‘great big thing' in store for them.

But picking any of those perfectly fine companies wouldn't give her one over on her thieving scumbag of an ex.

Her hand curled into a fist, as it had done at least once a day since the break-in. How dare Alex try to destroy their livelihood? They were closing in on a year since she left their home, during which he'd been living with his girlfriend.

After all that time, he still hadn't got his shit together and just moved the fuck on.

"Stop getting angry," Josh said with a tut. "And unclench your jaw. Stop thinking about him."

She pulled a face and glanced at the door yet again. Pulling out her phone, she dialled his number, shrugging over at Josh in answer to his silent question. Both of them had the same thought on their mind. Where the fuck was Marcus?

He answered on the first ring, already apologising as he brought the phone to his ear.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry," he said, the words getting louder as he spoke. She could picture him clearly, speed walking down the street, speaking as soon as he clicked to answer, only to realise the receiver was nowhere near his mouth .

"I'm on my way, I swear. Angus wouldn't let me fucking leave." Erica stifled a giggle, covering her mouth. That was her fault. She warned Angus under no circumstances was he to allow Marcus to leave early.

Apparently, Angus had taken his role seriously.

"I'm like five minutes away. Can you order me a drink?"

"Already done," she said. "Although Josh keeps eyeing it up, so I can't promise it'll still be here."

"Tell him if he steals my drink, he'll be wearing my next one. Did your meeting go okay?"

She told him she and Josh had a meeting with the bank to discuss some money their parents had saved for them. Utter shite, of course. Their parents wouldn't trust Josh with that kind of money.

"Really well," she said truthfully. "But I'll tell you more about it when you get here." She glanced at the door, half expecting him to walk in. "I also have to tell you about who I ran into on my way to the bank."

"Oh? Who was that?"

"Your ex-wife." Silence followed by a heavy sigh.

"Tell Josh he can have my drink. I have a feeling I'm going to need a double." She laughed, feeling her heart flutter. Ah, she liked this man. "I'm at the end of the street. I'll see you in a minute, beautiful."

Hanging up, she cradled the phone to her chest, smiling to herself.

"Erica's in lu-urve," Josh said, a shit-eating grin on his face. Erica rolled her eyes, heat rising in her cheeks as she nudged Marcus' drink towards him.

"Shut up and drink this. I'm going to get stronger drinks"

"Might as well get shots too," he said, helping himself to Marcus' drink. Waving her hand in acknowledgement, she moved to the bar, ordering a round of drinks to be sent to their table. Before she knew what she was doing, she made her way to the exit, lingering by the door as she waited for Marcus.

Damn, she had it bad.

Grabbing a cigarette from her bag, she stepped outside, lighting it up. At least she could pretend she was doing something other than waiting like an excitable puppy. Sure enough, by the time she took the third draw, Marcus was at her side, stealing the cigarette from between her lips and taking his own long draw.

"Sorry," he said, releasing a puff of smoke. "It's been one of those mornings.."

She shrugged as he handed back her cigarette, leaning against the wall next to her. "Was it at least a productive morning?" She asked, glancing up at him. He flashed her a devilish smile that made her stomach tighten deliciously.

"It went okay," he said. "But to be honest, the memory of our shower has distracted me all morning."

Images flooded her mind until she swore she could feel the cool glass of the shower pressed against her chest once more. Marcus had fucked her from behind while water rained down on them and drowned out her pleasured cries.

"You focused enough to get things done, I hope," she said, pretending as though his words didn't affect her.

"I did what I needed," he confirmed. "We officially have a licence to use the new house as a tour spot."

Erica sighed in relief, mentally checking off her to-do list.

They shouldn't have to cover their back this much, but given Alex's latest stunt, they were taking no chances with legal loopholes. Given the history of their new home, there was no chance they could leave it off their tour. But it would be just like Alex attack them for illegally using their place of residence as a business.

Angus had helped them make sure everything was above board and perfectly legal.

"At least we don't have to worry," she said, stubbing out her cigarette. "Shall we head in?"

Nodding, he moved his arm around her waist, his hand resting on the small of her back. Leading the way to their seats, she raised her hand to Josh, grabbing his attention. "Where are the drinks?" She asked, frowning. "I asked them to bring them to the table."

Josh sighed. "I'll go check. You two get settled." Exchanging a quick greeting with Marcus, Josh left the table, leaving them alone.

"So you ran into Sophie?" Marcus said, shrugging out of his jacket. "How did that go? "

"Fine, actually," she replied, chewing her lip. "She accused me of stalling on the divorce, but I shut her up rather quickly, so it was no problem."

"Oh yeah? What did you say?"

Erica hesitated, glancing towards the bar where Josh was still waiting to be seen. News like this really needed a drink at hand, but she couldn't wait to tell him. She needed to tell him.

"Okay," she said, clearing her throat. "Well, first. I had to lie to you earlier today."

"You lied?" he asked, his brow furrowing.

"A little white lie," she assured him. "I didn't meet with the bank manager."

His frown got even deeper as he pushed his hair away from his face. "Okay. So where were you?"

"I had a meeting with the London Group," she admitted, chewing her lip.

"As in your ex-husband's biggest clients? That London Group?"

"The very same," she replied with a nod. "I'm not sure how much you know about them, but they're a multimedia company. They've got a small record label and a couple of publications. But what they specialise in is television."

"Oka-ay," Marcus said. "Go on."

"After we appeared on the news, I had a few people reach out to me on our website. The common theme in these messages was getting you and me on TV again." Erica had never heard the phrase ‘TV pretty' before speaking to these kinds of people. "And with all these people reaching out, it made me think they might be on to something."

"Here we go," Josh said, interrupting them, and placing a tray of drinks on the table. "What did I miss?"

"Erica was just telling me about all these TV offers we've received."

Josh scoffed as he handed out the drinks. "They were nothing compared to the deal Erica secured you. They just wanted a quick one-off. But now you've got a ten-episode deal—"

"Josh!" Erica said, cutting him off .

"Erica?" Marcus said, raising an eyebrow. "Ten episodes of what?"

"You didn't tell him?!" Josh demanded. "What have you been doing this whole time? Telling each other how pretty you are?"

Erica rolled her eyes. "I was getting to it," she said, shaking her head. "Why are you so quick—"

"Wait, wait," Marcus said, interrupting the playful fight between siblings. "We're going to be on TV?"

Erica smiled, nodding her confirmation.

Not only were they going to be on TV, but she had secured them a pretty lucrative deal. The ten-episode series would focus on a different ghost from their tour, with the two of them presenting the story in their usual dramatic style. If that wasn't exciting enough, the London group offered to pay them a bonus for exclusive rights to their brand and media. There were already talks of another series, another opportunity.

"We'll have full creative control," she explained, while Marcus listened patiently. "The only request they have is us allowing a few of their guys to take our tour so they can get a feel for everything."

"She hasn't even told you the best part," Josh said, taking a drink with a grin. "You're gonna be loaded ."

"It's tacky to talk about money—"

"How loaded?" Marcus asked, knocking back his drink.

"One hundred grand for the ten episodes - ten grand per episode," Josh said gleefully. "And then a further twenty-five grand each for you and Erica if you give them at least five years of exclusive rights to your content."

"You're telling me they're willing to pay us one hundred and fifty thousand to tell a couple of ghost stories in front of a camera?"

Erica beamed at him, sensing his excitement. She nodded once, reaching for his hand. "Even without the money, though, can you imagine how much exposure we're going to get from this?"

"You did this all yourself?" He asked, his tongue flicking over his lip as his eyes roamed her body .

"Hey! Stop eye-fucking my sister, please," Josh said, pushing a shot towards them. "Here. A celebratory drink."

"I don't need a drink," Marcus said firmly. Excitement danced in Erica's stomach at the way he looked at her, a tingling between her legs making her squirm in her seat.

"Oh, brother," Josh said, rolling his eyes. "I'm going to get us some drinks. Do what you need to do."

Marcus' gaze followed Josh before flickering back to Erica, his eyes dark pools of heat. "You are fucking incredible, you know that?" He said, his tone gruff. "And a celebratory drink is not enough for me to express how amazed I am by you."

"No? She said breathlessly. "What did you have in mind?"

"Go to the bathroom and take off your knickers." Her stomach clenched deliciously as a thrill ran down her spine. "I can't fuck you the way I want to, not yet anyway. But I can't wait until we get home, either. Go now, and I'll be there in five."

Not one to be told twice, Erica flashed him a smile before walking through the bar with a confident stride. No one would know just how soaked her knickers were, how wet her pussy already was.

Checking the bathroom was empty, she chose a stall and reached under her skirt, pulling her underwear down her legs. Feeling bold, she left her knickers on the door handle, letting Marcus know exactly which stall she was in.

Seconds ticked by, turning into minutes. Her heart raced, and her breathing quickened.

As she heard the door open and soft footsteps enter the bathroom, she turned around, pulling her skirt up and exposing herself. Listening, she held her breath as the footsteps stopped outside her stall.

God, she hoped that was Marcus.

The stall door opened and closed in quick succession. A pair of warm hands grabbed her hips, pulling her against an already hard cock.

"Just what I like to see," a deep voice said. "No knickers and a wet pussy. "

She looked over her shoulder at Marcus, seeing the same desperate need on his features that she felt for him.

"I hope you've been practising how to keep quiet, baby," he said as his hand moved around her waist and down between her legs. "Because I have every intention of making you scream."